Tigers

The tiger is a traditional symbol of strength, and particularly the white tiger is seen as auspicious. While its rival and partner the dragon is totally mythical and fantastic, the tiger generally appears as a naturalistic rendering of the real animal.

The white tiger has long been revered as a symbolic agent of the gods - and is one of the "Four deities" of feng shui. This is a graphic portrayal of a powerful, yet somehow unthreatening, animal.

No details of this artist are readily available. He signs his paintings with a seal for the first character ('Ino') of his given name only: this means 'wild boar', which might seem surprising, but it is a fairly common element in names.

The white tiger has long been revered as a symbolic agent of the gods - and is one of the "Four deities" of feng shui. This is a graphic portrayal of a powerful, yet somehow unthreatening, animal.

No details of this artist are readily available. He signs his paintings with a seal for the first character ('Ino') of his given name only: this means 'wild boar', which might seem surprising, but it is a fairly common element in names.

A rather different pose: a mother and baby white tiger by a fantasy waterfall. This puzzle will be a big challenge with the difficult background.

Kentaro Nishino was born in 1980, in Kanazawa on the Japan Sea coast, and graduated from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco in 2003. He takes his inspiration from nature, while lending his own air of fantasy.

Another cute little baby, this time with striped zebra fish. This almost-monochrome image will be a big challenge as a puzzle...

Kentaro Nishino was born in 1980, in Kanazawa on the Japan Sea coast, and graduated from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco in 2003. He takes his inspiration from nature, while lending his own air of fantasy.

The white tiger, protector god of the west, looking suitably fierce, yet in Kayomi's characteristically soft style. The box includes the characters for 'West: white tiger', and the Chinese reading 'Bai-hu' for "White tiger."

No biographical details available. She signs her given name Kayomi in Roman letters.

Amidst rather fantastic surroundings, this tiger presents the traditional image of pure strength...

Kentaro Nishino was born in 1980, in Kanazawa on the Japan Sea coast, and graduated from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco in 2003. He takes his inspiration from nature, while lending his own air of fantasy.

A pair of white tigers - one placid, one baring teeth. Although these are realistic representations of the real animal, we are also expected to think of the Chinese guardian of the western celestial direction, that is, one of the four gods. In this guise, the white tiger has been revered from ancient times as a bringer of good fortune.

Few biographical details are available, but Ogasawara has worked as a background artist for anime production, and specialises in animal portraits. Her acclaimed painting of a pair of white tigers has also featured on a jigsaw puzzle.

Mystery... The three puzzles we have (as of April 2006) all have different copyright declarations: her name written in Japanese, "Row.E.Ogasawara" and "Row. V. Ogasawara" - the pictures in these latter two cases include a signature "Row." which might be a nickname. She writes her given name, Etsuko, with the old form of hiragana 'e', so it might also be rendered as 'Yetsuko', though this hardly explains the 'V'.

Kentaro Nishino was born in 1980, in Kanazawa on the Japan Sea coast, and graduated from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco in 2003. He takes his inspiration from nature, while lending his own air of fantasy.

An impressive white tiger among the bamboo, but also an image laden with symbolism; its original title is literally "White tiger warding off disaster." The key on the side of the box lists the items as follows:

White tiger

Red bamboo

Quartz: the large crystals in the lower right corner

Magic spell

The magic spell is written vertically in the upper part of the picture. Sometimes known as "The Disaster Preventing Dharani," where a Dharani is something longer than a mantra and shorter than a sutra, it consists of transliterated Sanskrit, so has no immediate meaning to a Japanese speaker. But you can chant it something like this:

Two white tigers with peaceful yet determined expressions. In the foreground cherry blossom, and in the background Mount Fuji by the glowing moon. Although this is a fantasy composition, the elements are traditional, as is the artist's title, referring to Fuji as reihō, the "Spiritual peak."

Shingo Saotome is a self-taught artist, who loves to paint the natural world in acrylics. He has been active both in Japan and in Florida since 1993.

Kentaro Nishino was born in 1980, in Kanazawa on the Japan Sea coast, and graduated from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco in 2003. He takes his inspiration from nature, while lending his own air of fantasy.

The white tiger, protector god of the west, looking suitably fierce, yet in Kayomi's characteristically soft style. The box includes the characters for 'West: white tiger', and the Chinese reading 'Bai-hu' for "White tiger."

No biographical details available. She signs her given name Kayomi in Roman letters.

The white tiger has long been revered as a symbolic agent of the gods - and is one of the "Four deities" of feng shui. This is a graphic portrayal of a powerful, yet somehow unthreatening, animal.

No details of this artist are readily available. He signs his paintings with a seal for the first character ('Ino') of his given name only: this means 'wild boar', which might seem surprising, but it is a fairly common element in names.

Amidst rather fantastic surroundings, this tiger presents the traditional image of pure strength...

Kentaro Nishino was born in 1980, in Kanazawa on the Japan Sea coast, and graduated from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco in 2003. He takes his inspiration from nature, while lending his own air of fantasy.

White tiger cubs gaze out over the pond, as the butterflies flutter by and the moon highlights a distant waterfall...

Kentaro Nishino was born in 1980, in Kanazawa on the Japan Sea coast, and graduated from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco in 2003. He takes his inspiration from nature, while lending his own air of fantasy.